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The Chicago Public Schools system (CPS) is the nation’s third-largest school district, with a total of 400,545 students enrolled at the start of the 2013-14 year. The district is led by Chief Executive Officer Barbara Byrd-Bennett and the seven-member Chicago Board of Education, both appointed by the city’s mayor. The district has been rocked by a budget crisis, struggling schools and a rocky relationship with the Chicago Teachers Union. In 2012, a seven-day CTU-led teachers strike ended in a new three-year contract, but it did not end the acrimony between the union and Mayor Rahm Emanuel. With the district facing a $1 billion budget deficit for the fiscal year 2014, Emanuel shuttered dozens of schools in 2013, calling it the “hardest decision” he made in his first three years in office. Overall, the district had an operating budget of $5.59 billion for the fiscal 2014 year and 41,579 employees, including 22,519 teachers, for the 2013-14 school year. The racial breakdown of the student body for 2013-14 was 45.2 percent Hispanic, 39.7 percent African-American, 9.2 percent white and 5.9 percent other. The CPS system includes 658 schools (478 elementary, 171 high school and nine combined).

Top "Chicago Public Schools" Articles

Jean-Claude Brizard, back to camera, CEO of the Chicago Public Schools, speaks at the Chicago Board of Education meeting. David Vitale, president of the school board, Penny Pritzker, board member and James Bebley, General Council, listen to Brizard's report.

Related "Chicago Public Schools" Articles

A Chicago Public Schools teacher has died after suffering a heart attack at an elementary school in the Austin neighborhood, authorities said.
James Dasher, 58, collapsed Tuesday afternoon at Spencer Elementary Technology Academy, according to the Cook...

The affluent Highland Park-based Township High School District 113 has all the modern technology, bandwidth, computers and technicians it needs to administer new online state exams this spring — but it opted to go with old-fashioned paper and pencil tests...

The Chicago Board of Education's decision Wednesday to borrow up to $700 million is likely to bring new scrutiny from ratings agencies as the district struggles to bridge a $1.1 billion gap in its upcoming budget.
As with any major debt issuance,...

I’m currently receiving an annuity from the Illinois Teachers Retirement System after teaching in a non-Chicago Public Schools public high school for a third of a century and contributing my portion to the system while employed.
I am beyond being angered...

Teachers at a West Town school say a revised student discipline code that scales back suspensions and expulsions has left them struggling to deal with unruly students.
"There were no structures put in place to support this code of conduct,"...

The city's cash-strapped school system is seeking to borrow up to $700 million as finance officials work to manage the district's many debts.
Chicago Board of Education members on Wednesday voted 6-0 to approve a measure providing for up to $300...

In its first formal response to a federal discrimination lawsuit, Chicago Public Schools denied the principal of a Northwest Side elementary school targeted pregnant teachers for dismissal and asserted performance ratings and layoff decisions that...

With days remaining before Illinois schools can administer a new state-mandated test, Chicago Public Schools remains in a tight spot over the potential consequences of its decision to spurn the exam, officials acknowledged Wednesday.
The Chicago Teachers...

Chicago Public Schools and a number of suburban school districts will be closed Thursday, as a wind chill advisory was set to go into effect for the area Wednesday afternoon.
CPS has no formal policy on closing schools due to inclement weather,...

Chicago Public Schools officials are reconsidering their snub of a new, mandatory state exam after being threatened with potentially crippling financial sanctions.
CPS testing administrators received a memo earlier this month telling them to complete...

A Chicago Public Schools substitute teacher has been charged with indecent solicitation of a 14-year-old student.
Aaron Williams-Banks, 28, who appeared in bond court Saturday, has been accused of sending sexually explicit text messages to the student...

If unions want people to join and pay dues, let them provide value to the workers that they should be serving.
Case 1: My daughter at 15 got her first job as a bagger at a grocery store. The union took one hour of her pay each week in dues even though...

Television and film star Alec Baldwin, recently having returned from filming a role in "Mission Impossible 5," the latest in the franchise that has earned more than $2 billion worldwide, was talking on the phone from Manhattan about his upcoming...

The Tribune continues endorsements today in contested races for the Chicago City Council.
32nd Ward: If we were going to pick a model for thoughtful independence on the City Council, it would be Ald. Scott Waguespack. He voted against the original...

The two aldermen appointed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel since taking office will face voters for the first time next week, and the results could help determine how strong the mayor's lock will be on the Chicago City Council should he win re-election.
On the...

I believe to improve education in Chicago, all Chicago Public Schools and charter schools should be career-based. Students lack interest in school because the classes that they take do not get them ready for their careers. This is probably the reason...

A forecast of wind chills that could reach negative 30 degrees led Chicago Public Schools officials to cancel classes Thursday, the fourth weather-related shutdown this year.
Several suburban districts also either canceled classes or announced a later...

To relieve overcrowding at Mount Greenwood Elementary School, six modular classrooms will be added for the 2015-16 school year, Chicago Ald. Matt O'Shea, D-19th, said in a news release Monday.
The $3 million plan also calls for building a playground at...

I'm probably opposed to the PARCC test, but I'm too busy filling out my kids' home reading logs to give it a proper assessment.
I know it stands for Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers and I know the Chicago Public Schools...